BARTY LEADS AUSSIE CHARGE
Australia into first Fed Cup final in 26 years
AUSTRALIA will go to its first Fed Cup tennis final in 26 years in November on the shoulders of mainstay Ash Barty’s extraordinary record in the competition.
Barty and first-time doubles partner Sam Stosur took Australia closer to a first Fed Cup title since 1974 with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 win over Belarus pair Victoria Azarenka and Aryna Sabalenka in a deciding doubles match at Pat Rafter Arena.
The opponents in the November 9-10 final in Australia, either France or Romania, will have to end Barty’s 14-match winning streak in Fed Cup singles and doubles after she remained a figure of dominance in a gripping 3-2 semifinal win.
The power and precision of the world No.9’s serve and forehand has swept all eight sets of Fed Cup singles she has played this year, including a commanding 6-2, 6-2 win over world No.10 Sabalenka earlier to give Australia a 2-1 lead.
“I felt I’ve had an amazing run in Fed Cup lately,’’ Barty said.
“I’ve lucky to have an amazing team and for us to send Australia into a Fed Cup final is unreal. None of us have played in front of a Fed Cup crowd like this.
“Sam and I had to refocus on a few things in the third set and we were able to build pressure.’’
Tennis Australia will decide the venue for the home final.
The Queensland public created a landmark event for the Australian Fed Cup team on the weekend, with an attendance of 9554 representing the biggest attendance for any tie in Australia in the women’s teams competition.
Belarus had sent the tie into a deciding doubles rubber when former world No.1 Azarenka overwhelmed Stosur 6-1, 6-1 to tie the semi-final at 2-all.
Australian captain Alicia Molik was rewarded for her trust in Stosur, who owned a 7-0 Fed Cup doubles record and finished the doubles match in superb form.
Molik decided to break up her winning doubles pair from the deciding rubber in the US in February, Barty and 20year-old Priscilla Hon.
Stosur, 35, played a strong service game at 6-5 in a tense first set, making two winning volleys and a passing shot in it.
She was broken at 3-4 in the second set after Belarus had saved three break points in the previous game served by Azarenka.
But the veteran found three winners in a row when she held serve for a 5-2 lead in the third set in which the Queenslanders exposed the uncertainty of Sabalenka.
“It’s super exciting to have a Fed Cup final,’’ said Stosur who had twice played in losing ties at Rafter Arena in 2014 and 2016.
“We always have each other’s backs as Aussie players, Fed Cup week or (a tournament) week. We’ll give it our best in November and can’t wait for it.”